By Chinelo Obogo
Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the receiver managers of Arik Air, has said it has appealed and applied for a stay of execution of a High Court ruling which granted the founder of the airline, Chief Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, unfettered access to the company’s premises and financial accounts.
Daily Sun reported that despite a court order granting Arumemi-Ikhide permission to access the airline’s financial records from 2017, AMCON had on Tuesday barred him from entering the headquarters of Arik Air at the Murtala Airport, Lagos and assessing financial records.
The Arik chairman arrived the airline’s premises around 10.30am on Tuesday but was told he couldn’t proceed into the office complex.
Reacting to the event which happened on Tuesday, AMCON said: “This matter is currently the subject of an ongoing dispute in the courts. Although a judgment has been delivered at the High Court, it has been appealed, and an application for stay of execution has been filed and served. As the legal proceedings are still ongoing, we shall not provide further comments at this time, as the matter is sub judice.”
AMCON, the receiver managers, took over the management of Arik Air in 2017 and appointed a receiver-manager, Kamilu Omokhide for the airline but in 2021, Ikhide, and his wife, Mary, filed a motion dated December 14, 2021, sought an order directing Omokhide (first defendant) and AMCON, (second defendant), “to allow the Directors and Shareholders of Arik Air Ltd unfettered access to their offices, premises of the Plaintiff, facilities and staff required for the discharge of their functions.”
Upon arriving at the airline’s headquarters, Arumemi-Ikhide was stopped at the entrance by the Chief Security Officer of the airline who identified himself to journalists as Mr. Tom West and who told the Arik Air founder that there was an “order from above” not to allow him access to the premises.
“The receiver manager gave an instruction not to allow you in. We cannot give you access to get into the compound. This is the instruction from above. I’m very sorry that I’m keeping you people under the sun. We have the directive to deny you access. I’m obliged to respect the directive from receiver manager,” the CSO told Arumemi-Ikhide.
Arumemi-Ikhide had earlier told the CSO that he was not at the premises to harass anybody or cause any problem but to respect the order of the court which granted him access into the premises of the airline.
He said he had a meeting with the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Finance Officer that he would be coming around on Tuesday and that some offices should be reserved for him which they agreed. He said he was surprised that he was denied access into the premises.
He later left the premises and proceeded to the MMA Domestic Airport Division of the Nigeria Police Force where he wrote a statement.
Explaining why he had to make a statement at the police station, he said: “I was in the Arik complex today pursuant to the order of the Federal High Court in the suit no FHC/L/CS/1175/2021 that I should be given unfettered access into my offices in Arik Air offices order to perform my duties with my team. The court having affirmed that notwithstanding the appointment of a Receiver Manager, that the organs of Arik Air remain intact and those organs such as the board and shareholders must be allowed to function.
‘It is because of that that I, being chairman of the board came to the office today. Being aware of the service of the order of court on the company and having met the management led by Capt. Roy Ilegbodu (CEO) on Wednesday, April 4th, 2023 with whom I discussed the orders made by the court and our intentions to adhere strictly to it, including the orders of court to be given office spaces, we both agreed that the orders of Court must be obeyed. We agreed that I and my team will resume this morning April 11, 2023 but to my greatest surprise and shock, I was barred entry by the CSO, Mr. Tom West, who claimed that he has strict instructions of the Receiver Manager, Mr. Kamilu Omokhide, to deny me and my team access contrary to the orders of court.
“Every persuasion with certified copies of the orders of court, earlier served on Arik Air by the court was discountenanced. As law abiding citizens, we decided not to press any further by ourselves but rather fall back to the processes of the law by reporting to appropriate authorities.”